[B-Greek] Joel 3:1-2 (LXX) & Acts 2:17-18 - Why EKCEW APO TOU PNEUMATOS MOU instead of EKCEW TO PNEUMA MOU?
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Sun May 9 21:10:27 EDT 2010
On May 9, 2010, at 7:50 PM, Eric S. Weiss wrote:
> The Hebrew text of Joel 2:28-29 (Joel 3:1-2 LXX) seems to read:
>
> "I will pour out My Spirit"
>
> However, the LXX translation renders it:
>
> "I will pour out from (APO) My Spirit"
>
> and Acts 2:17-18 keeps the LXX reading.
>
> So whereas the Hebrew text has God pouring out His Spirit,
> and not merely [something] "from" His Spirit, the LXX addition
> of APO seems to diminish the meaning/effect of the Hebrew.
>
> Other places in Acts indicate that people received the Spirit,
> and not simply [something] "from" the Spirit.
>
> So why does the LXX add APO here? I did some searching of
> EKCEW plus APO in the LXX and Philo and Josephus and
> the Apostolic Fathers, but couldn't find a reason for the LXX
> addition of APO to EKCEW in Joel 3:1-2.
Conybeare and Stock's little Grammar of LXX Greek, §92. ἀπό. a. ἀπό [APO] in the LXX is often little more than a sign of the genitive, like our English ‘of,’ provided that the genitive be partitive.
That suggests that the LXX translator had the sense in mind, "some of my spirit."
See also BDAG: s.v. APO 1.f as a substitute for the partitive gen. ... ἐκχεῶ ἀ. τοῦ πνεύματός μου [EKCEW APO TOU PNEUMATOS MOU] Ac 2:17f (Jo 3:1f).
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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